Interdisciplinary Learning in Journalism: A Hong Kong Study of Data Journalism Education

Abstract

Using data collected in the assessment survey of a series of data journalism (DJ) training activities in Hong Kong, this study compares participants' learning activities. These participants consist of students, scholars and professionals from diverse academic backgrounds. The findings show that significant differences exist between learners with journalism-related backgrounds and those with science backgrounds. Compared with journalism majors, during the activities, science majors interact with others more and get more practice; they also gain more theoretical and practical outcomes alongside higher levels of learning enjoyment. Interviews with journalism majors indicate that lack of fundamental knowledge, time and support in practice brings difficulties to their DJ learning. Suggestions for an interdisciplinary approach to journalism education were also collected through interviews, which include more information on DJ, a deeper level of interdisciplinary interaction and more interactions with the industry. Survey and in-depth interviews are both used in this research to provide references for DJ students and instructors.

Features of Training Future Journalists in Current Conditions

“…Instead, the aim is to equip students with the ability to handle various aspects of journalism, including writing, video production, and audio editing. In addition to having strong skills, there is a growing emphasis on cultivating well-rounded journalists with broad knowledge and versatile abilities [18].…”

Understanding and Enhancing Journalism Students’ Perception of Data Journalism

“…Bridging the gap between theory and practice is another challenge, as students need hands-on experience to develop their data journalism skills (Heravi and Lorenz 2020;Gray et al 2012;Gray and Bounegru 2021;Howard 2014). Data journalism needs an interdisciplinary approach since many different technical skills are involved in the epistemology of journalism that are unlikely to be possessed by one professor; therefore, collaborations between different educators are needed to achieve an effective learning outcome (Plaue and Cook 2015;Zhu and Du 2018).…”

Sense and Nonsense: Teaching Journalism and Science Students to Be Advocates for Science and Information Literacy

“…Classroom activities and assignments were designed to facilitate critical thinking and to enhance understanding through interdisciplinary learning, which has become an increasingly important way to engage students in the classroom (e.g., Angus & Doherty, 2015;Iqani & Feigenbaum, 2015;Zhu & Du, 2018). We believed this approach to be fundamental to helping journalism and science students gain a deeper appreciation of the importance of science communication to society.…”